Three major falsehoods about Afghanistan

Written By: BC Mary
Date: 2006-04-03 09:10:00
<a href="/article/81040621-three-major-falsehoods-about-afghanistan">Article Link</a>

Most of the Taliban’s energies went to fighting Afghan Communists. Iran, India and Russia openly backed the Communists — rechristened, Northern Alliance.

Most of the so-called “terrorist camps” in Afghanistan were in fact bases used by Muslim volunteers who had come to fight Communists there and in Central Asia.

The Taliban shut down production of opium and heroin. But its backwards leaders proved themselves to be harsh and incompetent. Female education was temporarily banned because Communists had infiltrated the nation in the 1970’s through the school system. The Taliban oppressed minority Hazaras, and blew up Buddhist idols.

<a href="http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Margolis_Eric/2006/04/02/1515979.html">http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Margolis_Eric/2006/04/02/1515979.html</a>

[Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on April 3, 2006]

Major falsehoods about Eric Margolis: 
 
1) He's a reporter. 
 
No, he's an editorial columunist. (I almost wrote 'Communist') 
 
Major Falshoods about the article: (put your seatbelt on, it's going to get bumpy!) 
 
"1) Taliban were not 9/11-style terrorists, but a religious, anti-Communist movement" 
 
Well, no there was no '9/11' style terrorists until 9/11. As for religious anti-communist, how does blowing up a US embassies in Kenya and Tanzinia and killing 80 people 'anti-communist'?? Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-'Owhali, Khalfan Khamis Mohamed, Wadih al-Hage, and Mohamed Sadeek Odeh, all Taliban, all Al-Queda were convicted in a court of law for their connections to those bombings. 
 
"Most of the so-called “terrorist camps” in Afghanistan were in fact bases used by Muslim volunteers who had come to fight Communists there and in Central Asia." 
 
Funny, the Soviets claim what they were fighting in Afghanistan (after they lost the war) was Radical Islamism. Weren't the Kadhr family openly admitting they were being trained to fight 'the west' at camps in Afghanistan? 
 
"The Taliban shut down production of opium and heroin. " 
 
No, they reduced production, increasing the street price in the West. Opium was the only crop left to them, as the Taliban's relentless stripping of Afghanistans' biodiversity has left it a barren dustbowl. The famed Pistachio forests were all chopped down and sold for their wood! 
 
"Female education was temporarily banned because Communists had infiltrated the nation in the 1970’s through the school system." 
 
'Temporary' being 23 years?? These 'communists' didn't infiltrate the 'male' school system? 
 
"But Washington gave millions in aid to the Taliban until four months before 9/11." 
 
So, it's OK to give aid to the Palastinians, but not the Taliban? I guess it's not ok to cut off aid when they kill your citizens. 
 
"The Taliban’s leaders knew nothing of 9/11, a plot actually hatched in Germany." 
 
Opinion. Mohammed Jamal Khalifa is Osama bin Laden's brother in law, who openly admits funding the bombing of the USS Cole. They certainally knew about the Cole bombing, I have doubts Bin Laden compartmentalized knowledge of 9/11 to not include his brother in law. 
 
"Since the Taliban’s overthrow, opium production is up 90%." 
 
And since Karzai's election, Opium production is down. And these are recent figures, not 3 year old 'opium production is up' fallicy. 
 
<a href="http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C03%5C09%5Cstory_9-3-2006_pg4_15">http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C03%5C09%5Cstory_9-3-2006_pg4_15</a> 
 
"The U.S.-NATO ruled narco-state Afghanistan now produces most of the world’s heroin. Karazi’s regime would collapse the moment foreign troops leave." 
 
Ummm, Afghanistan was always the leader in Heroin production. Since the Taliban and Warlords took over. And, yes Karzai's government would fall the moment we left. Duuuhhh! 
 
Does Mr. Margolis have a better idea how 10,000 troops can take over a country of 30 million? People are flipping out about Afghanistan now, imagine if the proper number of troops, say 250,000 were sent over there? Or closer to the Soviet era levels? It's a choice people, ethier we give the proper support to the mission and send the number of troops needed to do the job, or we cut and run and let the warlords and Taliban have the country back. 
 
“Canada is defending women’s rights.” Laughable nonsense. The Taliban, demonized by western propaganda, mistreated its females no worse than other Afghans. 
 
Laughable. Nice. 
 
<a href="http://www.rawa.org/zarmeena2.htm">http://www.rawa.org/zarmeena2.htm</a> 
 
So, since females could only see female doctors, and since females could not be educated - where were these doctors to come from? I guess we aren't defending their right to walk unescorted down the street without being thrown in the back of a pickup and hung by the neck from a soccer goalpost. 
 
Why aren't womens right groups protesting this editor's article again? 
 
"Canadian troops are not social workers and won’t change local customs. Only naive fools think they could." 
 
Wow. Finally some insight. I guess naive fools can have some, once in a while. 
--- "I think it's important to always carry enough technology to restart civilization, should it be necessary." Mark Tilden

Man, I was working on something here and talk about getting beaten to the punch!

This is the same defeatist who claimed back in August 2004 that "The U.S. is losing the war it is now waging in Afghanistan" and in October 2004 claimed the "war in Afghanistan" was "already lost".

I emailed him something comperable a few minutes before seeing your post - if he replies I will let you know.

I believe that the taliban were anti-soviet, which is entirely different from anti-communist. They were insurgents against the USSR, and were armed/trained by the USA during the cold war for that purpose. Whether the USSR was communist is immaterial in this case; the Taliban were anti-occupation, and probably would have acted the same if it was a capitalist country doing the occupying at the time.

---
"Beer Garden'? You mean, a real garden of beer? I thought they only had those in Canada!" --Largo

I have never seen the proof that Osama bin Laden planned and executed 9-11. Strange how all of the attackers perished, and most were Saudi, yet within hours the US Government was brandishing his name around freely. Didn't they jump a bit quickly to conclusion? Rather like they already had his name in mind should something bad happen? An international court tribunal would have been far superior, at least then THEY WOULD HAVE CAUGHT HIM. Instead we got to kill thousands of innocent Afghan civilians, and inflame Western hatred to all-time highs. High Five!

The Taliban were honoured guests of the US, despite their barbarity, before refusing to allow Unocal to build a pipeline through their country. They were then informed by a U.S. diplomat, 'accept our carpet of gold or we will bury you under a carpet of bombs'. This was less than 3 years before Sept 11, 2001.

The attack was in the planning stages months before 9-11 even occured.

The U.S. invaded Afghanistan to topple the current government and establish one favourable to the US and willing to accept the pipeline. This has been done.

Resistance to this Imperialist occupation is proving to be stronger than forcast, though, and the countryside needs to be secured before investors will agree to risk the start of construction.

Canadian troops are providing this, in a show of support where we can, seeing as how we refused to invade and conquer Iraq with the US and Great Britain. Ads have now been sent to Washington to appear on bus stops, showing that indeed, we have 'boots on the ground' in support of our ally. 'We didn't go to Iraq with ya buddy, but at least we're pluggin' A-Rabs in Afghanistan!'

When (and if) the pipeline is ever built, Canada will gleefully continue to sacrifice young lives to ensure it is guarded.

This is the world you live in, Dr Caleb. Wake up and smell it, sunshine. Your out here on the street with the rest of us, and you donno wot time it is.

Where do we disagree again?

Oh! One point. I don't need to see proof against Osama. He proudly admitted to it in his own words. The question is "why?" he admitted to it.

Ethier he didn't do it, and he figured on playing the worldwide terror leader for a while (cause he's already screwed by the CIA anyhow); or, he did do it and wants everyone to know.

---
"I think it's important to always carry enough technology to restart civilization, should it be necessary." Mark Tilden

I hope he replies.

---
"I think it's important to always carry enough technology to restart civilization, should it be necessary." Mark Tilden

Please, remind me again, when was the time and date of the audio stating, "me and my buddies carried out 9-11, and we are proud of it! We are going to go hide in caves again.'

This was days after the US had already said he did it.

Perhaps he was framed. Perhaps they went shopping the files for the guy they could pin it on. In exchange for this, they promised his rich Saudi friends that they would never actually catch him, he could live anywhere he wanted to, in luxury, but he had to stay hidden.

Seems as likely as any of your scenarios.

Regarding the guilt of AQ, I wonder what specifically would satisfy you? What could happen today that would change your mind with respect to OBL’s culpability?

I would say American’s most certainly had his name in mind prior to 9-11. This shocks you? AQ had, if you recall, been responsible for the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya, and Tanzania as well as the attack on the USS Cole. Hundreds dead in total.

And also because OBL and co. issued a fatwa in 1998 saying "to kill Americans and their allies, civilians, and military is an individual duty of every Muslim who is able." I hope this put your “jump a bit quickly to conclusion” conclusion to rest.

Regarding your quote, the “carpet” one, if you Goggle it, you’ll see it resides nowhere but websites like emperors-clothes, serendipity, bellaciao, etc. It is a lame Moore-esque argument with absolutely nothing to back it up. Nothing.

Record a video outlining your criminal deeds before they take place? What if that tape was intercepted prior to the mission? What if the mission had to be aborted and you’d already made the tape and it was en route to Al Jazeera? Does that seem like a wise plan?

With that in mind, once it goes down in America, they cut the tape.

You realize OBL just can’t stroll to the nearest FedEx and same-day it to Qatar, right?

1) 9/11 was an inside job. The body of evidence for this far exeeds the evidence that says a bunch of Arabs with box cutters hijacked four commercial airliners. It is amusing that 4+ years after the event there are individuals that are still holding on to this disinformation.

2) The "terrorist" group "Al Qaeda" was actually named as such by the CIA in the former Yugoslavia. The CIA were incidentally training Muslims in guerrilla tactics, and gave this title.
The branding of Arabs who, for whatever reasons chose to express as violently as possible their distaste of a century of Western interference of their affairs, as Al Qaeda, is convienient for the present US administration as it gives them a convienient enemy - "The War on Terrorism!"

3)Fundamentalism of any abstraction cannot sustain itself, and eventually self-distructs. The greedy, resource hungry west just can't seem to leave them alone, and so we are going to bear consequences.

4)And lest we forget, both the attacks on Afganistan and Iraq were illegal, according to the laws of the UN, so now our Canadian troops are becoming de facto war criminals.

Bino,

"Regarding the guilt of AQ, I wonder what specifically would satisfy you? What could happen today that would change your mind with respect to OBL’s culpability?"

For me I can no longer believe anything the governments of USA, Canada, Britain or Israel says. They have lost ALL credibility. They are as much responsible for terrorism as any OBLs, Hussains, Hitlers, you name anybody you like that you think has created horror and I think the same of them. They are only wrose because they have the most room to be better. When you are loaded either with cash or weapons or both is the right thing to do lie, coerce, smear, manipulate, propagandize and then go bomb the shit out of destitute people's infrastructures, ruin their history, torture them for your own gain? Credibility? Get it? They have NONE. ZIP. NADA. GONE. They are murdering scumbags.

---
"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." Friedrich Nietzsche

I'd sent him the link to the poll done in the fall of '05 which indicated very, very strong support for the coalition and overwhelming hope for the future in spite of so many dangers and shortcomings. I asked him if he'd seen it, what he thought about with respect to his own findings, etc.

Here is the reply I received:

"Surveys can produce any results. Reporters talk to a handful of people in Kabul, or in managed settings, not out in the field.

Best Wishes
Eric Margolis"

So, naturally, I followed. Up with this:

This survey was conducted by the Afghan Center for Social and Opinion Research - trained Afghan researchers interviewed a randomly selected sample of 1,039 adults across the country. Only about 13 percent of those 1039 people wqere in Kabul - that doesn't mean anything to you? The survey is worthless?

Let me ask you - when you made the claim on March 13, that 'national resistance to the occupation is growing', where did you get that information from, exactly?

He did not reply.

19 men can't hijack 4 planes filled with unsuspecting civilians, but the bumbling and largely incompetent Bush administration can pull of the largest scam in history - killing thousands of their own people in the most coordinated scheme ever - for the purposes of global domination and a lust for oil.

Makes total sense.